we are all innocent, we are, we are
Sep. 7th, 2005 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threeplusfireI have to write about this, because it has been on my mind for the past two days. It involves my job, and it involves death, and it may not be something everyone wants to read. I have left identifying details out.
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In May I took a call about a family. There were lots of kids in the home, five or six. The oldest was about 14 and the youngest was just four months old. There were concerns about the home environment being dirty and very unsanitary for the children. One of the children had a broken bone but we didn't know how that injury happened. There were concerns about who was supervising the kids. The parents were working overnight jobs and left the kids in the care of the teenager, who seemed overwhelmed by the responsibility. Sometimes the kids were playing in the street, or out late into the night. No one seemed to be watching them.
It was worrisome, especially given the very young children involved. But we didn't know if they had any illnesses, if they got sick eating rotten food, if they had sores or injuries. We didn't even know much about this alleged hand injury, which kid had it or how exactly it happened. I staffed that call with a supervisor to ask what kind of priority I should put on the report. A Priority 1 means someone goes out today. A Priority 2 means someone goes out in the next seven to ten days.
Often when there are very young kids, we slap P1s on the reports because the children are especially vulnerable. But priorities are not a hard and fast rule. There is so much grey to our work, so many factors to consider. So I staffed it to get the supervisor's opinion. The supervisor said P2 and that is what I did. Since we didn't know about injuries or just how overwhelmed the teenager was, it made sense. So the case went to the field and was assigned to a worker.
Ten days later it was my birthday. Ten days later the worker had not gone to see the family. Ten days later and the youngest child in the family died. All in the space of ten days from that call.
The death was ruled accidental. But every child death is reviewed by a team, and they send their findings and recommendations back to the field offices and to us. The team stated that I should have made the initial report a P1. My report was reviewed, as well as the audio tape of the call. Ultimately, it was decided that I put the correct priority on the report and they agreed with the staffing supervisor's assessment to make it a P2.
In my heart I know it wasn't my fault that the little boy died. I could not have known. Should I have known? Should I have done something differently? Should I have argued more for a higher priority? What if, what if, what if... I know better than to think about what ifs. But in the end, a boy we could have saved died. He died on my birthday, and I can't help but ache for that.
It makes me think very hard before I push that button, every time I send something out. It makes me think a lot about the lives that hang in the balance.
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In May I took a call about a family. There were lots of kids in the home, five or six. The oldest was about 14 and the youngest was just four months old. There were concerns about the home environment being dirty and very unsanitary for the children. One of the children had a broken bone but we didn't know how that injury happened. There were concerns about who was supervising the kids. The parents were working overnight jobs and left the kids in the care of the teenager, who seemed overwhelmed by the responsibility. Sometimes the kids were playing in the street, or out late into the night. No one seemed to be watching them.
It was worrisome, especially given the very young children involved. But we didn't know if they had any illnesses, if they got sick eating rotten food, if they had sores or injuries. We didn't even know much about this alleged hand injury, which kid had it or how exactly it happened. I staffed that call with a supervisor to ask what kind of priority I should put on the report. A Priority 1 means someone goes out today. A Priority 2 means someone goes out in the next seven to ten days.
Often when there are very young kids, we slap P1s on the reports because the children are especially vulnerable. But priorities are not a hard and fast rule. There is so much grey to our work, so many factors to consider. So I staffed it to get the supervisor's opinion. The supervisor said P2 and that is what I did. Since we didn't know about injuries or just how overwhelmed the teenager was, it made sense. So the case went to the field and was assigned to a worker.
Ten days later it was my birthday. Ten days later the worker had not gone to see the family. Ten days later and the youngest child in the family died. All in the space of ten days from that call.
The death was ruled accidental. But every child death is reviewed by a team, and they send their findings and recommendations back to the field offices and to us. The team stated that I should have made the initial report a P1. My report was reviewed, as well as the audio tape of the call. Ultimately, it was decided that I put the correct priority on the report and they agreed with the staffing supervisor's assessment to make it a P2.
In my heart I know it wasn't my fault that the little boy died. I could not have known. Should I have known? Should I have done something differently? Should I have argued more for a higher priority? What if, what if, what if... I know better than to think about what ifs. But in the end, a boy we could have saved died. He died on my birthday, and I can't help but ache for that.
It makes me think very hard before I push that button, every time I send something out. It makes me think a lot about the lives that hang in the balance.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-07 11:59 pm (UTC)How tragic ...
I take it that the family is now getting the attention it needs/deserves? I hiope the other kids are OK!
no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 12:39 am (UTC)thanks.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 12:19 am (UTC)In my job I assess safety and health conditions and I worry constantly about the decisions I make. I feel like I am always weighing shades of grey.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 02:34 am (UTC)I wish I had brilliant words to make you feel ok about everything. I suspect, though, that there are none.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-08 07:38 pm (UTC)It's always a difficult line to walk... One the one hand, you need a certain thick-skin to survive the regular cranks. You put up with an astonishing level of day-to-day idiocy that you just *have* to treat with (well... perceived-) respect and professionalism. At the same time, you can'tafford to let yourself become inured to the strife and need of others.
On one side, you're too involved, too caring... on the other, you're too remote, too cold.
And that's just dealing with other people's lives. When your own life starts touching things--even in the most remote or tangential ways.... well, damn.
You and